Pittsgrove Township Board of Education weighing how many choice students it will accept into district

PITTSGROVE TWP. — The Pittsgrove Township Board of Education is expected to make a decision here at its January meeting on how many school choice students they will be accepting during the 2012-2013 school year.

Assistant Superintendent Michael Brodzik said as of right now the board has approved an additional 20 students, but they have the potential of accepting upwards of 90 new students. The district has already accepted roughly 40 students into the choice program.

Pittsgrove Township Board of Education is expected to make a decision at its January meeting on how many school choice students they will be accepting.

“I believe the board supports school choice — to what extent varies from each board member,” said board President Melissa Conover. “They are receptive to adding students, but we just don’t know quite how many yet.”

Under the school choice program, any public school student in the state can apply to attend schools in other districts, and the student’s home district is responsible for providing transportation to the new school, as long as it is within 20 miles.

Choice districts in turn for accepting the new students receive state funding rather than parent-paid tuition.

During the 2012-2013 school year, officials said the district will receive close to $13,000 for each student. This includes the local and state share.

“It’s about providing funding so we can do more things for our kids and certainly the kids who come here would benefit as well,” said Brodzik.

He added that taking a conservative estimate of $12,000 per student, the district could raise up to $1 million if they were to take approximately 90 students into the district.

During a presentation last week, Brodzik said this potentially means more teaching staff, after school programs, aides, and technology for the rural district.

Superintendent of Schools Henry Bermann put this funding into perspective by saying they would have to raise taxes by nearly 20 cents to generate this type of funding for the district.

“The positives, aside from the money, is the opportunity this brings for our kids and the ability for them to interact with other students,” said Conover. “This is an educational experience they might not otherwise have in their community.”

Enrollment in the Pittsgrove School District has declined over the past four years, making them a prime applicant for school choice. Enrollment in 2007 was 1,998 students. This is a decrease of 147, with the number of enrollment totaling 1,851 in 2011.

Brodzik said the 2011 number includes the influx of students they gained from Elmer since the school became part of the Pittsgrove district.

Board member Marlene Smith was apprehensive about making a decision without more specific data on what the district gains from bringing in additional students.

“I’m all for additional programs and what not, but I also make decisions based on specific information and it’s just not here,” Smith said. “It is a whole lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘it might do this.”’

During public session, former board president Dr. Fiore Copare spoke in favor of the district accepting more students through the choice program.

He said there is just less and less available to the kids from year to year and the additional funding could help change that.

Conover said the board is likely to make a decision on the how many students they will allow into the school choice program at the Jan. 19 meeting.

She added they will also be reviewing the issue in early January under two separate sub-committees — finance and curriculum.

“I think it’s about drawing a line — there is a tipping point to where we still want to be able to serve our own kids,” said Conover. “The important thing is being able to maintain a level of instruction the kids deserve.”

The 20 students already approved for next school year will be chosen at a random lottery drawing on Tuesday morning.